Bonds of Love
by Dueler312
Summary: Sequel to Joining Soul. Starr and Cole have a family and life is good. A familiar enemy face shows up than, but wants to be friends with Starr and the others. But Langston and Nicole find out later on as bad things start to happen, what this friend wants.
1. Chapter 1

Bonds of Love

By Dueler312

Disclaimer: I do not own anything of OLTL.

Chapter 1

The smell of bacon was coming from the kitchen when Cole woke up. He figured Starr was cooking. "She's getting better at cooking everyday," he said. He sat up and started to get dressed, while seeing the picture of the two of them from their wedding day. Starr and Cole would never forget that day, as it was one of their most special days ever.

It have been nearly 5 years since that day Starr and Cole were married, and that Starr told Cole that she was pregnant. Now, the little fetus egg that was in Starr was now a healthy five-year-old boy named Patrick. He seemed to inherited Starr's hair color, but Cole's hairstyle and his eyes. Patrick was starting school in Kindergarten as well. Unfortuantely though, he usually got in a lot of trouble bothering Nicole, who was now 10 years old and starting 5th grade in school. She was starting to look a lot like her mother. She still though was the same girl who would stand up for her family. Starr noticed that Nicole definitely looked like her when she was young, defending her family.

Back in the present, Cole went downstairs after getting dressed for his job. He and Markko were coaches at Llanview High: Cole, football. Markko; Lacrosse. Cole and Starr were now living in a house that they bought, since the apartment they had wouldn't be able to accumulate what they needed anymore. On the way downstairs though, he stopped at Nicole's door and knocked to see if she was up.

"Hey, Nicole. Are you up yet?" he asked without opening the door. Cole got his answer with Nicole opening the door and coming out in lime green shorts and a pink top. "Up and ready, Dad. I had my alarm set to wake me up so I could get ready," she said.

"Good job, remembering," said Cole. "Is your brother up yet?" he asked.

"I don't know, Dad," Nicole answered. "I just hope he doesn't start messing with me today."

"Hey, save that tone when you really need it, okay," Cole warned his daughter.

"Okay, Dad. Sorry," Nicole apologized.

"All right. Why don't you go help your mom while I go check Patrick, okay," Cole suggested. Nicole nodded and grabbed her backpack and headed downstairs.

As she reached the bottom step, she caught the smell of bacon reaching her nose. "That smells pretty good, Mom," she said.

Starr looked at her daughter and said, "Thanks, darling. If it wasn't for your dad, I wouldn't be able to cook this good. Where is your dad anyway?" she asked.

"He's checking to see if Patrick is up," Nicole answered without hesitation.

Cole went over to Patrick's room and knocked. No voice came, so he opened the door. Cole then let out a huge breath of air and shook his head. Patrick was still asleep in his bed. He was usually a heavy sleeper.

"Hey Patrick, wake up," Cole said as he went over to him and shook him lightly. The five-year-old boy woke and sat up, seeing his dad. "Hey Dad, what is it?" he asked.

"You got to wake up," his father said, "or otherwise you're going to miss your first day of school."

"Its that day!?" Patrick almost yelled out. "Excuse me, Dad. I got to get my clothes on." Patrick then hurriedly threw his covers off of him, and then got up and made his bad, and started searching for clothes.

"Make sure you hurry up. Your mom is almost done with breakfast," said Cole, as he left for Patrick to get ready.

Downstairs in the kitchen, the phone rang, and Nicole answered it. "Hello?"

"Hey Nicole, Its Langston. Can you put your mom or dad on, please?" asked Langston.

Langston and Markko were still together and married a year after Starr and Cole were married. They even had a baby a year after that. It was a girl, named Laura, who was now three years old. Nicole always loved to play with her when she had the chance. Langston had become a great writer, and started to write plays in books.

"Sure. Hang on," said Nicole. "Mom, Langston is on the phone." Starr went to take the phone from her daughter when Nicole brought it to her.

"Hey Lang. What's up?" asked Starr.

"Hey, could you ask Cole to pick up Markko on the way on dropping your kids off? His vehicle is in the shop because of something minor," said Langston.

"Sure, he's coming down right now. I'll ask him," said Starr. "Cole?"

"Yeah?" Cole answered.

"Markko is needing a ride to your guys job, and he's wondering if you'll pick him up after dropping Nicole and Patrick off?" asked Starr.

"Sure, I got no problem with that," said Cole. "I can even pick up on the way before I drop off these two," said Cole. Starr nodded, and said to Langston, "Cole says its okay, Langston."

"Okay, thanks. Later," said Langston.

"Talk to you later," said Starr. "And say hi to Laura for me." Langston made sure she would do that, and hung up.

"Hey, where's the breakfast?" asked Patrick, who was coming down, dressed finally. Unfortuantely, Nicole shook her head and said to her brother, "Patrick, you got the shirt inside out."

Cole went to his son and went to fix it, while Starr laid out the breakfast of bacon and scramble eggs. They had a good talk while eating, talking about how Starr's job as a herpetologist is coming, to Nicole's and Patrick's first day of school coming in a matter of minutes.

Soon after, it was time to head out. Nicole and Patrick headed in the back seats of the their father's car, while Starr and Cole stood outside for a little bit.

"I'll see you tonight, okay," said Cole.

"Sure thing," said Starr. They shared a quick kiss when Cole noticed something. "What is it?" Starr asked.

"Huh? Oh, I just saw that someone bought that house down there finally," Cole said, pointing to a house that was five houses away from theirs and on the other side of the street.

"Well, I hope they are friendly," said Starr. "We can meet them after work and dinner tonight," she suggested.

"That sounds cool," said Cole.

Nicole saw the house that was bought as well, but she thought she saw someone staring at them. She shook her head, and looked again, but there was no one there. "What up with you?" Patrick asked her.

"Nothing," said Nicole, but she felt a little weird after that. Their father then came in the car, and asked them if they were ready to go. They both said yes, and they headed off, with Starr heading off to work in her car.

Unfortuantely, Nicole was right about someone watching them from that house. "Don't worry, Cole. Soon you will be mine, and you won't have anything to do with Starr or those little ones," the person said. "You and I have a bond stronger than what you have with her. You're all mine."

_Looks like Nicole spotted the weird person first. And who do you think the weird person is, and what that person has in store for Starr, Cole, and their family? Stay tuned. _


	2. Chapter 2

Bonds of Love

By Dueler312

Disclaimer: I do not own anything of OLTL.

Chapter 2

Nicole and Patrick were dropped off at school, and Cole left with Markko so that they could get to work. On the way, Cole told Markko about someone buying the house.

"We're actually thinking about welcoming them to the neighborhood tonight, and we want you, Langston and Laura to come," said Cole.

"Hey that sounds cool," said Markko. "Besides, Laura loves playing with Nicole there."

"No doubt about that," said Cole, as he pulled up in the high school parking lot. "Time to get to work," he said, and they both got out.

Nicole was enjoying 5th grade. She had two best friends. One of them was a girl named Crystal, and they always liked to hang around and talk about girl stuff. Nicole's other best friend, and Crystal's was a boy named Jake. He became best friends with Nicole and Crystal by defending them against someone that was hurting them. Those three were always close, but Jake knew when to give the girls some time alone.

However today, when Nicole was walking in, Crystal and Jake noticed that there was something wrong.

"Hey Nikki," Crystal called. She was the only one who was allowed to call Nicole that.

"Oh, hey you two," Nicole said as her two best friends came up to them.

"Are you okay?" asked Jake. "You seemed a little out of it when you walked in."

"I don't know," said Nicole. "It just that I think someone was watching us from the house that is five houses away from ours, right across the street."

"Did you tell your parents?" asked Jake.

"No. I thought it was just nothing, but something tells me like that person may be trouble," said Nicole.

"Maybe you better tell someone this," said Crystal.

"Yeah, I better," said Nicole. The bell then ring. "Come on, you guys. We better not be late."

"You're right on that, Nikki," said Crystal.

"Come on, you two," Jake said, shaking his head at his friends, and the three of them went to class.

Starr was studying a poison from a snake when the alarm on her watch told her it was time for her lunch. She put the poison away and cleaned up, and then went to go to Rodi's to order something. When she was there however, she saw Langston there, along with her little girl, Laura, eating. Langston was writing of what was her latest play.

"Hey Langston," Starr called out to her.

"Starr, what are you doing here?" asked Langston. She pulled out a chair for Starr to sit.

"Oh I'm just grabbing something to eat, and then heading back," explained Starr. "Hey Laura."

"Hi, Starr," said Laura. Laura looked like she inherited Markko's eyes, but she had curly, long, black hair. "I'm coloring a picture here," she said, holding it up to show Starr.

"Oh, that's neat," said Starr. She then turned to Langston.

"Hey, we actually got a new neighbor on our street," said Starr.

"You mean someone finally bought that house," Langston said, sounding a little surprised.

"Yeah, and Cole and I, along with Nicole and Patrick are going to welcome them or him/her to the neighborhood tonight, and if you want to come along-"

"Sure, I don't have a problem with that," Langston interrupted. "I think Laura would like to, huh sweetie."

But Laura seemed to be too interested in coloring to be paying attention of what the two women were saying.

"I'll talk to her about it when we get home," said Langston. Starr just smiled.

"Rodi's burger for Thornhart!" someone called from the bar area.

"Well, I better get that and get back to work. I'll see you later, Langston," said Starr.

"Later, Starr," said Langston. The two best friends shared a hug, and then Starr said good-bye to Laura, who responded right away. When Starr left with her food, Langston asked her daughter, "Why didn't you respond when I asked you that question?"

"I was busy coloring and didn't want to mess it up," Laura explained to her mom. Langston just shook her head.

Later on during the day, when Nicole, Patrick, and Cole was at home, Cole was about to start deciding something good to fix for their new neighbors when there was a knock at the door. Nicole came down the same time it was knocked upon.

"Hey darling," Cole called out to his daughter. "Can you get that please?"

"Sure, Dad," said Nicole, and she went to see who was at the door.

"Hey, you three," she said when she opened the door. Langston, Markko, and Laura were there in the doorway.

"Can we come in, Nicole?" asked Langston.

"Oh, sorry," she apologized, and let the Rivera's walk in.

"Hey, you two," said Cole. "Hey Laura."

"Hey Cole," said Laura, turning a little red. Laura seemed to have a little crush on Cole.

"I was just about to start on dinner," said Cole.

"Do you want any help?" asked Markko.

"Sure," said Cole. He and Markko went in the kitchen to go to work. Langston went to follow, but was stop when Nicole called her.

"Langston, can I talk to you about something?" she asked.

"Sure, Nicole. What's up?" Langston asked her.

Nicole took a deep breath and said, "Something been really nagging at me since this morning, right before Dad took Patrick and I to school."

"I'm listening, go ahead," Langston said, as they both sat down.

"Well, I had a feeling that someone was watching us, and I don't mean ordinary watching like seeing a family getting along thing. I mean more like," Nicole said, but she was having trouble trying to find the right word for it.

"Stalking?" said Langston.

"Yeah, and I talked to my friends about it, and they felt that I needed to tell a grownup that could help," Nicole explained along.

"Well, your friends are right," said Langston. "When your Mom, Dad, me, and Markko were in school, although more than you are now, when we felt something was wrong, we would tell our parents, all though your grandpa wouldn't listen when it came to your dad."

"Well, do you think I'm overreacting?" asked Nicole.

"Well, where did you think you see this mysterious watcher?" Langston asked.

"In that house, that somebody bought," Nicole answered.

Langston then felt a little nervous. "Are you talking about the one that's five houses across the street?" she asked.

"Yeah," Nicole answered without hesitation.

Langston thought about it at first, and then said, "Well, I think you were right in telling someone, but I would wait in passing judgment until you see who this person is."

"Okay," said Nicole.

"Hey can you color with me, Nicole?" asked Laura, who came over to them.

"Sure thing, Laura," said Nicole, and they went over to the front room table to color. Langston went to leave them alone, but had a strange feeling after having that conversation with Starr's daughter. Unfortuantely both Langston and Nicole's strange feelings were about to be proven a little when all of hem went to welcome the neighbors.

"Now remember, behave," Starr said to the three young ones, mostly to her own two, as they messed with each other a lot.

Starr knocked and the door opened. They were in a shock as they saw who was living there.

"Well, I never thought I would see you four again," the owner said.

_Find out who the owner is in the next chapter. _


	3. Chapter 3

Bonds of Love

By Dueler312

Disclaimer: I do not own anything of OLTL.

Chapter 3

"Britney?" Starr said, sounding shocked. Cole, Langston, and Markko were also a little shocked as well. The kids were wondering how their parents know her.

"The one and only," said Britney. "Come on in." Starr looked a little reluctant, but Cole just said, "We'll go in there, but we'll try not to stay too long." Starr agreed, and everyone walked in.

The house was definitely made over by Britney. Nicole seemed to be a little hesitant toward it.

"Well," said Britney, "who knew we were going to run into each other again."

"Yeah, who knew," said Langston.

"And who are these three young ones?" Britney asked.

"These are our two kids, Nicole and Patrick," said Starr.

"And this is our daughter, Laura," said Markko.

Laura and Patrick said hi immediately, but Nicole said it with a little difficulty. Starr noticed it, but decided to put it off when they got back home.

"So, you guys have a happy family, huh?" said Britney.

"Yeah, we do," said Cole. "What about you?" he asked.

"I'm still looking around, but I'll find someone soon," said Britney. Nicole caught her on that, but for some reason, only Langston seemed to had caught that as well as her.

"Well, if you're thinking of planning something against us, it's not going to work," said Langston.

"Relax, I'm not that kind of person anymore," said Britney. "I've turned over a new leaf."

"That's a little hard to believe considering you tried that during our freshman year," said Cole.

"Hey, I've learned from my mistakes, and I am a better person," Britney said convincingly.

"Well, we'll see on that, okay. We got to get home," said Starr.

"All right," said Britney, and she opened the door for all of them, and they all headed out.

"I hope I can see you again soon," she said, before she closed the door.

"What do you guys think?" Starr asked Cole and the others when they got back home.

"I don't know, I would keep an eye on her," said Langston.

"Well, she could have changed," said Cole. "I mean we're not in high school anymore."

"True," Markko agreed.

"I still say we should keep an eye on her, just in case," said Langston.

"All right, how about we give one chance, and if she blows it, than that's it," said Starr. Everyone agreed.

"Well, we better get our little one home," Markko said to Langston, nodding his head to the sleeping little girl on the couch.

"Yeah, We'll see you later, guys," said Langston. They share some quick hugs and then Langston picked up Laura and the Riveras headed out.

"You think it was a good idea to give Britney a chance here?" Starr asked Cole.

"Well, I think she knows we don't really completely trust her, but if she gives her reason to trust her, then maybe we'll learn to trust her," said Cole. "Come on, we better see if those two aren't messing with each other while getting ready for bed," he added, referring to Nicole and Patrick. Starr knew he was right, and Cole went to check on Patrick while Starr went to see to Nicole.

When Starr got to her daughter's room, she saw that Nicole was already dressed for bed, but was sitting on the covers, thinking about something. "Hey sweetie, are you okay?" Starr asked her.

"I don't know, Mom," said Nicole. "Something is just really bothering me."

"You want to talk to me about it?" asked Starr.

"Its that woman," Nicole confessed. "I just feel something strange about her."

"Well, I will admit. Me and your dad and our friends didn't get along with her because she always messed with us, but some people can change," said Starr.

"From what I heard, Grandpa didn't seem to change," said Nicole, referring to Todd.

"Is that why you hesitated a little before saying hi to her?" Starr asked her.

"I just don't really trust her, Mom," said Nicole.

"Well, trust isn't earned in just a few minutes, sweetie. You got to earn that trust," Starr explained. "I mean you actually earned the trust your friends, right?"

"Yeah, but," Nicole started to say, then thought about something, and decided she needed to tell her mom. "It just that this morning I think I saw someone watching us while we were leaving, in a stalking way from that house. And we went there tonight, I didn't see anyone else there."

Starr looked a little concerned for Nicole, and asked, "Did you tell anyone else about this person watching us?"

"Only my friends and Langston," Nicole answered.

"Well, I'm glad that you did tell someone," said Starr, turning her daughter to face her, "but whenever you have a problem with this, you should tell me, okay," said Starr.

"Okay, Mom," said Nicole.

"Good," said Starr, kissing her daughter's head. "Now come on. Its time for bed."

Nicole and Starr got of the bed and Nicole pulled the covers back, and slipped into them. "Night, sweetie," said Starr.

"Good night, Mom," said Nicole. "I love you."

"I love you too, Nicole," Starr said, and she flipped the light off for her before leaving her daughter's room.

Back over at Britney's house, Britney was laying down on the couch, having a glass of wine in her hands. "Those fools actually felt for my nice act," she said, swishing the wine in the glass. "Pretty soon I be able to convince them that I have changed, and then that's when the bad stuff will come to convince Starr that Cole is not right for her or their kids, and then I'll come in and comfort him, and then I'll have him, and I'll have him with none of those losers or their freaky kids will see him again. Pretty soon, I'll have Cole by my side, and there will be no one that can stop that." Britney then swallowed the rest of the wine, and then poured some more in her cup. "I'll be Mrs. Cole Thornhart, and Starr will just be nothing." She did a little simple laugh before draining the cup again before walking in a waltzing way to her bedroom.

_Trust me, this was hard for me to write. And Nicole didn't seem to buy Britney's friendly act. How long do you think until Nicole gets onto Britney's plan? Stay tuned. _

A/N: Sorry about that mess up. I thought I saved chapter 3 on here.


	4. Chapter 4

Bonds of Love

By Dueler312

Disclaimer: I do not own anything of OLTL.

Chapter 4

"Wow," said Crystal. "An old high school enemy of your parents is in that house, and now wants to be friends with them?"

"Yeah," said Nicole. "And I just can't shake this weird feeling that she's not who she says she is."

"Well, maybe it would be a good idea to get close to her," said Jake.

Nicole had been telling Jake and Crystal about what happened over at Britney's house last night, after school, while Nicole was waiting for her dad to pick her up.

"And why should I do that if I have a weird feeling about her?" asked Nicole.

"Its like that saying," said Jake. "Keep your friends close,"

"and your enemies closer," Crystal finished for him.

"Exactly," said Jake.

Nicole thought about it, and then said, "I'll think about that."

"Hey Nicole, are you going to kiss that boy?" That question came from Patrick, who was running up to them.

"Stop it, Patrick, right now," said Nicole. Nobody noticed, but Jake turned a little red when Patrick asked that question.

"Why?" her brother asked

"Because Dad is right behind you," said Cole, who was coming up right to them.

"But Dad, she's sitting next to a boy," Patrick continued to tease.

"And aren't you a boy, who sits by her when we are in the car?" Cole asked his son. Patrick had no reply. Cole just smiled, and then said to Nicole. "Come on, time to go, Nicole."

"Okay, Later you guys, Nicole said as she picked up her purse and backpack and went with her dad.

"Later Nicole," said Jake.

"Bye, Nikki," said Crystal.

As Cole and his kids went to the car, Cole asked his daughter, "Hey how come you don't allow Jake to call you Nikki?"

"Its a girl thing, Dad," she said as she got up into the seat. and buckled her seatbelt.

As they were driving, Cole then asked something else. "Hey, can I ask you two something?"

"Yeah!" shouted Patrick.

"What is it, Dad?" asked Nicole?

"Well, the first high school football game is tomorrow at where I work, and if we were wondering if you guys want to go, and if not, you can spend that time with my mom?" Cole proposed.

"I want to go." Patrick almost said immediately.

"Can Jake and Crystal come too?" asked Nicole.

"If their parents say that its okay, then it will be with me, although we'll have to clear with your mom too, okay," said Cole. Nicole smiled as her dad gave that answer.

They got home, and were getting out of the car, when Britney came up to them. "Hey Cole," she called to him. Nicole started to get that bad feeling again.

"Britney," Cole said with a little shock on his face. "What do you want?"

"Well, if its okay, I was wondering if your kids would want to spend some time at my place while you can have some time to yourself?" Britney suggested.

"Umm," Cole thought at first, but then Nicole beat her father to the punch.

"We can't," said Nicole. "It's too close to supper anyway, and I have homework I got to do."

"Sorry about that, Britney," said Cole.

"Oh, well good luck at the game tomorrow. I'll be watching your boys play," said Britney.

"Okay," said Cole, and Britney took off back towards her house.

As soon they got in the house, Cole asked Patrick to go play in his room so he could talk to Nicole.

"Hey, was something bothering you, sweetie?" Cole asked his daughter.

"I don't really trust her, Dad," said Nicole. "Although I wasn't lying about the homework. I need to get started on it."

"Well, we are giving her one chance, and if she blows it, she won't be near us," Cole explained to daughter. "Just, one more thing," said Cole, with his voice starting to go in a teasing mood. "Are you sure you haven't kissed Jake?"

"DAD!" yelled Nicole, playfully slapping him on the arm. (Cole was bent down a little.) "You're worse than my brother there," she said as she went upstairs to her room. Cole couldn't help but laugh. "Hey, can beat a dad for trying," he said.

"Are you teasing our daughter?" a woman's voice asked from the doorway. Starr came in the house and set her purse down.

"Actually, Patrick started that one, but I wanted to mess with her a little," Cole admitted. "Why are you doing home early?" he then asked.

"Well, some of us who have been doing great jobs got to leave early today, and I was one of the lucky ones," Starr explained.

"Well, I guess that makes me a lucky person, because I got the woman I love so much earlier than I usually do," said Cole. He then smiled along with Starr and they shared a little kiss, and then got started on getting ready for supper.

Little did they know, Nicole was watching them from the stairwell. She had a forgotten a pencil and went to retrieve it, and then saw her mom, and loved seeing how her mom and dad always showed their love for each other. Nicole still hadn't forgotten about that promise she made when she was young about hoping that she would find someone for her, but knew that was still a few years away. She quietly then went back up to her room to do her homework.

She was about halfway through it when she felt that weird feeling again. She looked up and through her window. She went over to it and looked outside, hoping she wouldn't be seeing who she thought looking at their house. Luckily, Nicole didn't see Britney there, but was starting to get really nervous about this. Just then, her door was knocked on.

"Yeah?" asked Nicole. The door opened and it was her mom, with the phone in her hand.

"Hey, Jake is on the phone for you," said Starr. Nicole took it and sat on the bed with it. Her mom left alone with it.

"Yeah, Jake," said Nicole. "What is it?"

"Hey, we just heard about your dad's first game of the season being tomorrow, and I was wondering if I could come? My parents say that its okay," said Jake.

Nicole shook her head and smiled as she spoke into the telephone. "Actually I already asked my dad on that if you and Crystal could come, and as long as it okay with their parents, than its okay with them," she said.

"Cool!" said Jake. "I'll call Crystal and see if she can come, and if she can, we can get ready for it tomorrow."

"Cool, Jake," said Nicole. "Well, I got to go. I still have half of my homework to finish up."

"All right, later," said Jake, and he hanged up. Nicole then went back to her homework, thinking about nothing except for a good day watching and cheering her dad with her family and friends.

Britney was drumming her fingers on her couch, thinking as she said, "That little one seems more cautious of me. I'll have to make sure that she doesn't interfere with my plans, of taking her dad away from her so I can have him all to myself." Britney then smiled an evil grin and with it came an evil laugh, as she went to the kitchen to get a drink.

_Nicole seems to be getting more nervous of Britney may do to her family. Stay tuned as Starr gets something really weird. _


	5. Chapter 5

Bonds of Love

By Dueler312

Disclaimer: I do not own anything of OLTL.

Chapter 5

It was chaotic around the Thornhart house on the night of the high school football game. Nicole was brushing her hair along with Crystal in her room. She and Jake arrived an hour ago, dropped off by their parents. Jake was keeping Patrick company, so that he wouldn't cause his sister any trouble.

Starr was downstairs, getting ready herself to watch her husband coach his first high school football game of the season when she heard the door knocked on. Starr wondered who it was, and went to answer it.

"Hey, Hun." It was Blair.

"Mom, what are you doing here?" Starr asked her while she let her in and closed the door.

"Well, I was actually going to the game myself, and I figured, why not go with you and the others," said Blair. "And I wanted to spend some time with my daughter," she quickly added, after Starr gave her a look that said, 'Yeah, right.'

"That's okay, Mom. I've been actually trying to finish cleaning up here so we can go," said Starr. She grabbed a cloth that she was using and continued wiping the down the table.

"Tell you what," said Blair. "You do that, I'll see if those two grandchildren of mine are ready." Starr thanked her for that, and Blair went upstairs.

"Wow," said Crystal. "That feeling you have against her must be really strong." Nicole had told Crystal and Jake about the invitation Britney had offered them about being at her house for a couple of hours so her dad could get some rest, and how Nicole quickly declined it.

"Yeah. I mean I don't even know that woman that well, and she wants us to go in her house without our parents, I don't think so," ranted Nicole.

Just then a knock came on the door and Blair popped in. "Hey Nicole," she said.

"Hi Grandma," said Nicole, walking over to give her a hug.

"And let me guess. Crystal, right?" Blair guessed after releasing her granddaughter.

"Yes, it is," said Crystal, stretching her hand out to shake Blair's. "And you must be Nicole's Grandma."

"One of them," said Nicole.

Blair shook her head, and then turned to Nicole. "Hey, are you and your brother ready for the game?"

"Me and Crystal are ready," said Nicole. "I don't know about Patrick. Jake was keeping him busy, so you'll have to see to him."

"Okay," said Blair. "But do you think it wise to have a boy here right now?" she asked, starting to tease her a little.

"Grandma!" Nicole almost shouted.

"Just kidding," said Blair, and then headed over to Patrick's room.

"Why do grownups do that?" Nicole asked Crystal.

"I don't know," her best friend said. "But why are you overreacting on it?" she added.

"Because we're only ten years old, not seventeen," Nicole stated. "True I want to find someone to love, but not right now. I'm still a kid."

"HEY YOU GUYS," Starr called from down the front room. "WE GOT TO GO OR WE ARE GOING TO BE LATE!"

"Well it looks like us kids better get down there right now or we're going to make your mom angry," Crystal pointed out.

"Come on," said Nicole. Crystal followed, but thought that Nicole acted a little weirdly on the subject of Jake.

Everyone was finally in the car and heading to the game. When they got there and paid to get in, Starr, Blair and the others started to look for Langston, Markko, and Laura. They looked around for half a minute when Langston called them from a spot in the top part of the bleachers.

"Hey, you guys," said Starr, with everyone sitting down.

"Hey, you guys," said Langston.

"Your man is sitting there right now, watching his players warm up," Markko pointed out.

"I think someone already pointed that out to me, Markko," Starr said, nodding her head to Laura. She seemed to be keeping a straight eye on Cole.

"Laura, come on. He's already taken," Langston said to her daughter, while laughing a little. Laura though didn't pay any attention.

"What's with her?" Jake asked Nicole.

"She's got a huge crush on my dad," Nicole explained.

"Aww, that's cute," said Crystal.

"Yeah, but she goes like that or blushes like that anytime my dad is around," said Nicole.

"Hey, I'm pretty sure it will go away as she grows up," said Blair. "I mean I'm pretty sure you must have had that kind of crush when you were little."

"No way," said Nicole. Starr noticed that her response was a little too quick, and decided to talk to her about it when they got home.

Just then the game was about to start. After the national anthem, the game started. Everyone was cheering when Llanview scored their first touchdown. When she calm down however, Nicole noticed that she saw some familiar hair sneaking out of the locker room area. Langston noticed Nicole looking down that way,

"Hey Nicole, are you okay?" she asked.

"I thought I just saw a woman leaving from the locker rooms," said Nicole, "like she wasn't supposed to be there." Langston looked a little concerned about that and checked where Nicole was looking. There was no one near there now except for a high school teacher passing by it every time.

Langston decided to tell Starr later on, after the game. Her mind was back on the game when she heard a familiar voice.

"Woo-hoo. "Lets go, Lions!" Britney was around at the end of the bleachers, cheering for the team as loud as she could.

"Wow," said Starr, who just heard Britney. "Looks like Britney hasn't lost her cheerleading voice."

"Yeah," Langston agreed. Although something to her didn't seem right. If Britney had been cheering on from there, how come they didn't hear her until now?

The game then ended spectacularly after a couple of hours, with the lions winning forty-two to seven against the wildcats. Nicole cheered her dad and even laughed when the players dunked a cooler full of ice water on him. Everyone else laughed as well, but Laura said, "Why they make him wet?"

Later on, after Starr got Jake and Crystal home, and then they got to their own house, Starr visited her daughter in her room.

"Hey, sweetie," she said.

"Hey, Mom," Nicole reply back.

"Hey, Langston told me of what you saw," Starr continued on.

"Yeah, and I think I may know who it is," Nicole reply back.

"Well, it could of been a teacher, with some info that your dad couldn't took care of because of the game," her mom tried to explain.

"I don't know, Mom," Nicole tried to reason back. "I got a feeling it was someone who wasn't supposed to be there." Starr just looked at her daughter and said to her, "You definitely have my courage and your dad's bravery." Nicole just smiled as her mom continued on. "Hey, just don't think about it anymore tonight, okay?"

"Okay, Mom," said Nicole, knowing that it would not be wise to continue the subject.

"Speaking of you though, I noticed that you went a little crazier when everyone was teasing about you and Jake," Said Starr.

"Mom, not you too," said Nicole. She was starting to become aggravated with "this" subject.

"Well, its okay to have a little crush on someone, especially if its one of your friends," her mom said.

"Mom," Nicole started to say, but then couldn't, because at that moment, they heard Cole coming in, calling for Starr.

"We'll talk more in the morning, Hun," said Starr, and she gave Nicole a kiss in the forehead and walked out.

Starr went downstairs and saw Cole, who was waiting for her with a card in his hand. She did notice though that he looked disgusted.

"Cole, what's wrong?" she asked. Cole handed her the card, which she gave her to read. It read:

"_Your wife is in love with someone else. I saw it. I'll have more proof of it later on."_

"Cole, you don't believe this do you? There is no way in-," Starr started to say, but Cole stopped her lips with two of his fingers.

"I don't believe that you would do this, nor that I would ever will, Starr," said Cole. "I just hope that whoever did do that doesn't do it again." Starr and Cole then shared a hug and a kiss, with Cole throwing the note in the trash.

Little did they notice, Nicole snuck out of her bedroom, and heard everything. After checking to make sure that was the end of the conversation, she snuck back up to her bedroom, and thought about what she heard. "That nasty woman is not going to hurt my family," she said to herself as she got back into bed. "I promised myself that no one is going to hurt my family, and I'm sticking to that promise."

_Looks like Britney made her first move, but it barely made a scratch in Starr and Cole's love. Langston and Nicole though noticed her. Stay tuned for more. _


	6. Chapter 6

Bonds of Love

By Dueler312

Disclaimer: I do not own anything of OLTL.

Chapter 6

Starr and Cole were doing okay, not even thinking about the letter. They just wanted to live on with their lives, and take care of Nicole and Patrick.

Unfortuantely, Nicole couldn't let this go. She was so certain that Britney was the one who sent that note, and she wanted to put an end to it. So on Saturday, after saying that she was going to Crystal to hang out with her, she got on her bike and rode over to Britney's house.

Britney opened the door, and saw Nicole. "Aww, hey Nicole. What can I do for you?" she asked.

"You can stop trying to break my mom and dad apart, that's what," said Nicole.

"What do you mean? I told your parents that I turned over a new leaf," said Britney.

"You seem to have forgotten that I am the parents of Cole Thornhart and Starr Manning Thornhart," Nicole reminded her. "And I know when people are messing around with my family, and I don't allow it.

"My grandpa nearly broke our family apart by trying to take my mom away from here, and you are not going to do it either," Nicole promised Britney.

"Okay, I think you are just simply overreacting, and you need to calm down and think about this," Britney tried to reason with her.

"Well then tell us why she saw you sneaking out of the locker area?" said a voice. It was Langston. She was right behind Nicole, with her arms folded.

"Langston, she must of saw someone else coming out of there," Britney said. "Now, if you girls will excuse me, I got to get to work." She grabbed her purse from inside and closed the door. She then got in her car and took off.

"She's lying, I can tell," Nicole told Langston.

"I think she is too, but we're going to need to prove it," said Langston.

"How can anyone believe that nice act?" asked Nicole.

"Hey, Britney tried a nice act on us once when we were in high school, although Markko wasn't with us at that time," said Langston. "And Starr and Cole were really believing her, but I wasn't really falling for it, and I'm definitely not falling for it now."

"Well, I got to get to my Crystal's house," said Nicole. "Later, Langston."

"See you later, Nicole," said Langston. "You know, you definitely have both of your mom and dad's heart and courage."

"Well, I wouldn't be their daughter then, huh?" she asked with a smile. They both laughed, and Nicole took off on her bike, while Langston went to her car to get to her destination. Little did they know, after both girls separated, Britney showed up in her car? It seems that she parked in a driveway that was absent, and as she pulled out, she said to herself, "Those two know my secret. I'm going to have to keep my eyes out for those two, if I ever plan to get Cole for myself." She then drove off.

Langston was still on the subject of Britney on her mind when she got home. Markko was coming out of the laundry room when he noticed his wife being out of it a little.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked.

"Huh? Oh, Yea-, No, I'm not," Langston said feeling a little down.

"What's wrong?" he asked sitting down next to her on the couch.

"Its just that, well, has Cole told you about his daughter's feeling towards Britney?" Langston asked her husband.

"Yeah, he has. Why?" asked Markko.

"I'm starting to get that feeling as well," said Langston.

""Are you sure about that? I mean, we haven't seen Britney done anything," Markko tried to explain.

"No, I think Nicole is right, and she thinks Britney is trying to split up her family," said Langston.

"Hey, Starr and Cole's love is too strong for them to be broken apart, even by Britney," Markko pointed out. "Trust me, no one is going to split our two best friends apart."

"Well, Nicole is dead center on that," said Langston. "She's keeping an eye on her to make sure that Britney doesn't do just that."

"Hmm. Man, that girl is dead set on protecting her family," said Markko.

"Hey, I just hope she stays careful, because I don't want her hurt," worried Langston.

Markko went to his wife's side and said to her, "I 'm pretty sure Nicole will be okay. She's tough on the inside, just like you, you freak." Langston smiled when Markko used their pet name. "Well you are tough too, freak," she added, and they shared a good kiss until it was interrupted by Laura asking, "Why are you and Dad calling each other bad names, Mom?" Markko and Langston looked at each other and called their daughter over to explain why they call each other that.

Starr and Cole were enjoying their day off by themselves, with Patrick playing along in the living room.

"I miss these times," said Starr.

"Where its just the two of us by ourselves?" asked Cole.

"Well, we're not exactly alone right now," Starr pointed out, nodding to their son, "but yeah, those times."

"Well, I actually got something planned for tonight if you want to do it," said Cole.

"What is that?" asked Starr.

"Well, what would you say to a romantic dinner for two at the palace tonight?" Cole suggested.

"Cole, are you serious?" asked Starr.

"Hey, I'm always serious when it comes to our relationship," Cole said sweetly. Starr smiled and reached for a kiss from Cole. "What about Nicole and Patrick?" she then asked.

"Well, I'm going to see if Nicole can stay the night at Crystal's place, and I'll get her some pajamas and some clothes for down there, and my mom already said that she can watch Patrick for the night," Cole explained.

"Then it sounds like I got a date to get ready for," said Starr. She then got up and after pecking Cole on the nose, went into the room to go get ready,

"Hey Patrick, you got your stuff ready to go to my mom's?" Cole asked his son.

"Yes, sir," said Patrick.

"Well, why don't you go get them, and meet me by the door," said Cole. Patrick did what he told and went upstairs. He then took out his cell phone to call Crystal's mom.

Nicole and Crystal were playing a board game in Crystal's bedroom when Crystal's mom came in.

"Hey Nicole, Your dad is on the phone. He wants to know if you want to sleep over here tonight." Nicole got up and took the phone and spoke to her dad.

"Dad, are you asking me if I want to sleep over here tonight?" she asked.

"Well, I'm taking your mom out for a little dinner over at The Palace and then have a little time to ourselves," Cole tried to explain.

"Oh, okay, then yeah. I would like to," Nicole answered. '

'

"All right," said Cole. "I'm going to be driving your brother to my mom's and I'll stop by on the way to give you your clothes and your pajamas."

"All right, Dad. I'll talk to you later," she said.

"Are you staying for the night, Nikki?" asked Crystal.

"Oh yeah," said Nicole as she handed the phone back to Crystal's mom. "We got a girls night out." The girls then both high fived each other.

As Cole headed out, he said to himself as put a bag that had his daughter's clothes in the trunk, and helping Patrick in the vehicle, "This is going to be one good night for Starr and me." He then got into the driver's seat of his car and drove off.

Little did they knew, Britney was hiding in the bushes in the next yard, hearing what Cole had just said. She emerged from them saying, "It will be a good night for the both of you, Cole, as you both will learn a little more of why you don't belong together." She then smiled an evil smile as she went back down to her house.

_What is Britney up to now, and what does she have planned for Starr and Cole? Stay tuned. _


	7. Chapter 7

Bonds of Love

By Dueler312

Disclaimer: I do not own anything of OLTL.

Chapter 7

After dropping off Nicole's clothes, and Patrick's off of his mom's, Cole then headed back home to get ready for his and Starr's big night.

"Hey Starr, where are you?" he called out.

"Upstairs bathroom, getting ready," she called out.

"Good, that leaves the bedroom for me," he said to himself, and went upstairs to get changed.

Nicole was rolling out a sleeping bag that Crystal had in her closet so she could sleep in it. While she was doing that, Crystal came in with some bedtime sleepover snacks.

"Hey, alright. Pigs in a blanket," said Nicole.

"My mom actually made started making them a hour ago for us," Crystal explained.

"She's always prepared," Nicole commented, taking one of the pigs and started eating it.

"Hey, I know you may go nuts on this subject, but I noticed that you keep going nuts when people keep bringing up you and Jake," said Crystal.

"Crystal, not you too," Nicole said, sounding annoyed.

"Well, that's what I mean, Nikki," Crystal pointed out to her best friend. "You always freak out when someone mentions you and Jake. I mean those guys are just playing with you."

"Yeah, but wouldn't you find it annoying that someone would be teasing you about something like that?" Nicole suggested.

"Yeah, but Nicole, you seem to be overreacting on it," said Crystal.

"It's just weird," said Nicole. "I mean we're still in elementary school. We're not in high school yet."

"Well, you're allowed to have a crush on someone as well," said Crystal.

"I just don't want to talk about it right now," said Nicole.

"Okay," said Crystal. "You think your parents are going to have a good time tonight?" she asked.

"Oh, I know they'll have a good time," Nicole stated. Though she said to herself, 'They'll have a good time as long as Britney doesn't mess it up.'

Cole came out of the bedroom looking neat in his suit. He went to the bathroom to see if Starr was ready.

"Hey, Starr, are you ready?" he asked, knocking on the door.

"One second," Starr called from the other side of the door.

"All right, I'll wait downstairs," said Cole.

Luckily, he didn't have to wait long, as Starr came down in a simple knee-length black dress, with her hair in a horsetail with some curls.

"You look really cute," he complimented.

"Thanks," said Starr. They shared a good kiss, and then Cole said as they up for air, "Still very Starr-like." Starr laughed at that as she remembered that night in the park. "Come on. Lets go have our night," Cole then said, as he took Starr in his arm, and escorted her out of their home and to the car. They then headed out to the palace.

Patrick was having a good time at Marty's. Marty had bought some coloring books for him, and he was having fun coloring in them.

"Grandma Marty," said Patrick.

"Yeah, huh, what is it?" she asked.

"Did Dad date anyone else besides Mom?" he asked.

"Well, yes, he did," Marty explained to her grandson. "But as soon as he found your mom, he knew he was the one for her."

"Wow, cool," said Patrick. "I think that Jake and Nicole should be together."

"Isn't Jake one of your sister's best friends?" she asked.

"Yeah, and she likes him," said Patrick.

"Well, do you have anyone you like," asked Marty.

"Eewww," said Patrick. "I'm not that old yet."

"Well, don't you think that how Nicole feels when you say things like that?" asked Marty. Patrick then put his head down, and Marty knew he got her point.

"Hey, if your sister has a crush on her friend, or vice-versa, that's not our business to know unless she tells us, okay," said Marty.

"Okay," said Patrick, knowing what he had to do to tomorrow.

Over at The Palace, Starr and Cole were having a good night. They ordered some pasta and were having a good time.

"This was really a great idea, Cole," said Starr.

"Well, only the best for my wife," said Cole. Starr smiled a loving smile at him.

Just then a slow song started up around the area.

"Hey, do you want to do dance?" asked Starr.

"Sure, but I think I'm the one who supposed to ask that," Cole said as he took Starr's hand and led her onto the dance floor. Cole then wrapped his arms around Starr, and Starr doing the same around Cole, and started swaying to the music.

Back over at Crystal's house, Crystal was in her bed, and Nicole in the sleeping bag. Nicole then turned over to talk to Crystal.

"Hey," she said.

"What?" asked Crystal.

"Just a question, but who do you want in a guy when you get old enough to date?" asked Nicole.

"Wow! That's a big question. Well, I think I would want a guy who would be tall, handsome, and always there for me," Crystal described. "What about you?"

"That's easy," said Nicole. "I just want a guy who would love me for who I am, like my dad does for my mom."

"You really love your mom and dad together, huh?" asked Crystal.

"Yeah, I do," said Nicole. "They have a lot of love for each other, and I love that about them. Its what I think true love is." Crystal smiled for her friend as she went to hug her.

Just then there was a knock on the bedroom door. "Lights out, girls," Crystal's mother called from the other side of the door.

"Okay, Mom," called Crystal. Both of the girls then got comfortable and laid down. Nicole took a longer time to go to sleep then Crystal did. The reason why was because she was hoping that her mom and dad were having a good time on their night by themselves, but also hoped that Britney wouldn't try to ruin it.

Starr and Cole were coming back from dancing on the floor to their table, with Starr a little tired from dancing. When they got there however, they saw a piece of photo paper lying down on the table.

"What's this?" asked Cole.

"I don't know," asked Starr. She picked it up, and then her face went from a curious look to shock of disgust. "You got to be kidding me."

Cole took the picture from Starr and his face went angry. It was a photo of Starr, but somehow it had a picture of Markko kissing her on the lips.

"I don't believe this," said Starr.

"I'm going to talk to John about this tomorrow," said Cole.

"Yeah, and I think I'm going to talk to someone as well," said Starr. "But I think we better tell Langston and Markko about this as well."

"Hey, there's a note," Cole noticed. There was a piece of paper that had fallen on his shoe on the floor. He picked it up and read it.

'_Here's the proof you need that your wife is not who says she is. I also got proof on you as well. Don't make me show it to her.'_

Cole and Starr knew that this had to be taken care of. Starr though had a weak feeling that her daughter may be right about who may be doing this.

_Stay tuned for more. _


	8. Chapter 8

Bonds of Love

By Dueler312

Disclaimer: I do not own anything of OLTL.

Chapter 8

Nicole seemed to have noticed that something was going on with her parents the next day. She first noticed it when her dad picked her up, as he muttering to himself.

"Hey Dad, what's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing, honey," said Cole. "Just thinking about work." Nicole noticed that he said that a little too quickly, and that's when her feeling got stronger.

However, it became really stronger when she heard a conversation from the stairs. Langston and Markko were there, and they and her parents were in the front room, talking about something.

"I don't get this, who could do something like this?" Markko asked waving the photo around.

"I don't know. I got a weak feeling Britney is doing it, but without any evidence, we can't prove that," said Starr.

"I knew that witch was up to something," said Langston. "Nicole even had a feeling about her."

"Hey, I don't want to jump to any conclusion," said Cole, "until we make sure who it is that is doing it."

The doorbell then rang. Starr went to answer it, and saw that it was John McBain. He was promoted to Commander in the LPD.

"Hey, John. Thanks for coming," said Starr, as she let him in.

"No problem," said John. "Now you guys said that there was something that was a police matter?" he asked.

"Yeah," said Cole, and he handed him the note and the picture. "Starr and I were out at The Palace last night, and we were coming back from dancing when we saw that picture of Starr and Markko kissing, which I know didn't happened.

Nicole looked like she was going to be sick. She knew Britney was playing a dirty game, and someone had to clean her game up.

John looked at the picture and the note after putting some gloves on. "Were you two there when this happened?" he asked.

"No, we weren't," said Langston. "But it involved Markko and me, so that's why we're here."

"Has anyone else seen this picture?" asked John. All of them shook their heads.

"All right," said John. He then asked, "Any of you got an idea of who may be doing this?"

"Well, we're thinking it may be Britney, but we're not sure," said Cole.

"Britney? As in Britney Jennings back from Llanview High?" asked John.

"The one and only," said Starr. "Nicole has been suspicious of her ever since we saw her back here."

"Really?" said John. He then pocketed the picture and note and said to them, "Well, I'll try to see who did this, and I'll have a little talk with Ms. Jennings, see if I can find something from her."

"All right. Thanks, John," said Cole.

"Hey, no problem," said John. "Although, I would also listen to your daughter. She nearly always know when something is wrong," he added. John then left.

"I'll tell you though, if Britney is up to her old ways again, she just blew her chance," said Starr.

"I got a pretty good feeling she may already blew that Starr," said Langston.

"Well, let's just wait and see," Cole said, coming up to comfort Starr.

"She's already gone over of blowing her chance," whispered Nicole. She then went upstairs to her room to figure out something.

Britney was getting ready to go to work, while at the same time, thinking about what she did, though in an evil way.

"All I have to do is keep sending more of those altered pictures, and pretty soon, Cole and Starr will start to doubt each other, and who knows," she said with a nasty grin, "I may even break up those two freak weirdoes as an added bonus."

Just then she heard a knock at her door. She went to go answer it.

"Aww, Ms. Jennings. I'm pretty sure you remember me," said John.

"Aren't you that lieutenant?" asked Britney.

"Actually, I'm the Commander now," said John. "And I need to ask you a few questions."

"Well, can we make this quick?" Britney asked as she stepped outside after grabbing her purse and closing the door. "I need to get to work."

"Okay, then I'll get to the point," said John. "Have you known about Starr and Cole getting weird messages and this photograph?" he asked, revealing the photograph of Starr kissing Markko.

"No, I didn't know Starr and Cole were getting weird messages," said Britney. "Are they okay?"

"They are all right," said John. "All though it seems a little weird that after you came back here, Starr and Cole start getting these weird messages."

"I not that person anymore, Commander," said Britney. "Like I told Starr and the others, I've turned over a new leaf. I just wanted to leave the past in the past."

"I'll be making sure of that," said John. And he walked away to his car and drove off. When he was gone, Britney started to rant. "Those pictures aren't tearing them apart. And the police are now involved. Well, I guess I'll have to do a little more along with the pictures when I get home." She then headed off in her car.

A little on later in the day, Nicole was riding her bike to Llanview Park. Before she had left, she had called Crystal and Jake and asked them to meet her there. She wanted to tell them about the latest note.

She spotted them entering the park just as she saw it in plain view.

"Hey, you two," she called.

"What's up?" asked Jake as Nicole caught up to them.

"Its that woman again, Britney," she said. "She left another note at The Palace where my parents where having dinner."

"Are you sure, Nikki?" asked Crystal.

"I'm sure of it," said Nicole. "And she somehow made a photo that had my mom kissing her friend, Markko."

"Wow, she's trying everything to get your parents apart," said Jake.

"That's why I need your guys' help," Nicole pleaded.

"Hey, we're always here for you. You know that," said Crystal.

"Always," added Jake. "What's the plan?"

"I think its time we have a look at what's that witch's plan is really," said Nicole.

"You mean break in?" asked Jake.

"No," said Nicole. "I mean look in there, and see how she is doing this, but from the outside."

"But won't your parents get mad at that?" asked Crystal.

"I don't really care," said Nicole. "I want to do this because I got a good feeling that she may start to go to higher measures."

Langston was walking around her home thinking. She was all alone because Markko had gone to pick up their daughter from his parents house. She had been trying to start a new book, but her mind was starting to drift on Britney would do next. She then knew right away that she had to do something. She grabbed a piece of paper to let Markko know that she was out, and then went in her car and drove off to figure out what was going on.

_I think you can tell what's going to happen at Britney's house, huh? Plus, what is Britney's additional part she is adding to her next picture? Stay tuned. _


	9. Chapter 9

Bonds of Love

By Dueler312

Disclaimer: I do not own anything of OLTL.

Chapter 9

Nicole, Jake, and Crystal rode over to Britney's house to figure out how Britney was doing this, and how to stop her.

"What are we going to do if she catches us though?" asked Crystal.

"She's not here," Nicole pointed out. The driveway was empty of any cars. "The only thing we would have to worry about if she came home early."

"And you three wouldn't caught?" someone said behind them.

Nicole, Jake, and Crystal turned around and saw that Langston was right behind them.

"Langston, we can explain," Nicole started to say.

"Hey, its okay, Nicole," said Langston. "I'm wanting to figure it out myself, and I knew you would do that soon."

"Hey, is it just me, or is her front door open?" asked Jake. The three girls turned and sure enough, it was.

"That's weird," said Langston. "You three stay here, I'll check this out." Langston then went inside to look around.

"Let's look through the window," Nicole suggested to her friends. The other two agreed. Crystal went to look through the window next to the door, and Jake went to look through the side window.

Langston was looking around; making sure that it wasn't a trap, until she saw a door that was locked from the inside. She tried to open it up, but no luck. Funny thing was though, there was no lock built in the handle, so she couldn't pick it.

Nicole was watching what Langston was doing, so she decided to look around on the outside to try to find a window that lead to that door. The good news was that she found one. But the bad news was that it was locked as well.

"I got to find a way to get in there, to see what that witch that wanted to be a friend with us is up to," said Nicole, and started to look around for a way to open up the window.

Cole right now was packing up the football equipment as practice was over for the day. They had another big game that was going to be happening tomorrow here at Llanview.

As soon as Cole was done, he started to head out to his vehicle. "Those boys are really coming through," he said.

Unfortunately, he wasn't able to say anything else, because at that moment, someone covered his mouth with a cloth. Cole tried to struggle to get his attacker off, but he wasn't able to, as he slipped into unconsciousness.

The intruder was masked, and then, with some difficulty, was able to drag Cole to a car, put him in the back seat, and taped him to the seat. Then the intruder covered his eyes with some kind of blindfold, and then buckled him up and closed the door. As she pulled her mask off, Britney said to herself, that part was too easy. Now for the next part, she said as she pulled out something in an envelope.

Nicole, Crystal, and Jake were trying everything they could to get the window opened.

"This is impossible," he said.

"There you guys are," said Langston, who was looking for them when she came out of the house.

"We found another way in to that room, but its locked as well," said Crystal.

Langston looked at it, and then smiled. "Well, it may be, but not for long," she said as she pulled out a hair clip from her purse. It turned out that the lock had a hole in the place where the lock was on the inside. She placed the hair clip in and started to do a little twist and turning. Miraculously, she was able to pick the lock, and pulled the window opened.

Unfortuantely, there was another problem. It wasn't as too bad as the window, but still bad. There seemed to be a black piece a wood that was covering up the whole window frame.

"How are we going to get through that?" asked Nicole.

"Allow me," someone said behind them.

It was Markko. Langston was surprised that he was here.

"Markko, what are you doing here? And where's our daughter?" asked Langston.

"Laura's still at my parents' house," said Markko. "As for why I'm here, I think the its the same reason why all four of you are here."

"Wait, you think-" Nicole started to say, but Markko interrupted her.

"Lets just say that I know now that some people definitely don't change at all, while some people do," said Markko. Langston just smiled at her husband.

"Now, lets see what our pretend friend has been up to," said Markko He aimed a couple of kicks at the board that was blocking their way.

Starr had gotten home and wanted to just relax with Cole. She knew that Nicole would be hanging with her friends, so they would only have Patrick to deal with.

Something though that Starr noticed was really strange. Cole's car wasn't in the driveway yet. Starr just probably figured that he was running a little late, and headed to the door of their house. Starr though stopped at the door as she saw an envelope with her maiden name on it.

"Who would be writing to me with my original last name?" asked Starr. She picked it up, opened it, and read it. It seemed to be typed.

_Hey Starr, I decided that I don't want to burden this with you anymore. I have a pretty good feeling that the letters aren't going to stop. Plus, there is another thing. I have fallen in love with another girl. I hate to say it, but that girl happens to be Britney. I'm really sorry. I figure I would leave the kids in your care. Take care._

_ Cole_

"No way, this can't be true," said Starr. Just then Starr got a call from her cell.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Mrs. Thornhart, this is the principal of Llanview High. We've just found your husband's car with its door opened and the keys on the ground. I have a feeling that something bad has happened to him."

"Hang on, I'm on my way. Can you call Commander McBain while you're at it?" asked Starr.

"Already done," said the principal.

"Okay, I'm on my way," said Starr and she hanged up. She decided to go on and see what was up without telling Nicole first, as she was starting to get really suspicious of what was going on.

It took a multiple of kicks, but finally managed to get the board down that was blocking the window. However, when the board was down, all five of them were in shock on what was on the other side.

Cole was starting to wake up, and then noticed that he was in a car, but not his own. He tried to move his arms, but found out that they were tied on the armrests of the seat.

"Well, well. Looks like my love is finally awake," said Britney who was driving the vehicle.

"Britney, what are you doing?" asked Cole.

"I'm doing what I wanted to do, Cole. Have you all to myself," said Britney.

"So I guess that turning over a new leaf speech was a fake as well," said Cole.

"Yeah, but we have a long way to go where we're going, sweetie," said Britney, as she pulled over to the shoulder.

"What do you mean? Britney, you better let me go right now," Cole demanded, trying to get his arms loose from the armrests.

"I'm sorry, but you know our love is stronger than what you had with that jerk," said Britney. "Don't worry though, she think that you've run away with me without the kids, and started a new life with me." She then took the same cloth and covered Cole's mouth again. Cole tried to resist again, but he was out again, and Britney started once more on the road.

Langston, Markko, Nicole, Jake, and Crystal were shocked as they saw what was in the locked room. It seemed that Britney had decorated it with pictures of Cole himself, and of Cole and Britney that were edited to make it like she was with her the whole time. There were even some of with what looked like old pictures of Starr and Cole, but with Starr being replaced by Britney.

"You got to be kidding me," said Langston.

"Looks like Britney still hasn't gotten over obsession of separating Starr and Cole," said Markko.

"Oh my god," said Nicole. "This woman is a complete nut job."

"Hey, I found something," said Crystal, who was over at the computer. It seemed that the computer had the mother load of pictures of Cole, and what seemed to be the made pictures of Starr and Markko kissing each other.

"Well, at least we got proof now of her doing this," said Jake.

Just then Markko's phone went off. It was Starr.

"Starr, hey listen I got something I need to tell you," said Markko.

"So do I," said Starr, who was at the high school. "Cole been kidnapped, and I think Britney did it."

_Will Cole be found and be reunited with Starr and his family and friends? And will Britney be stopped? Stay tuned. _


	10. Chapter 10

Bonds of Love

By Dueler312

Disclaimer: I do not own anything of OLTL. 

Chapter 10

Starr, Langston, and Markko, along with their kids, had been at Starr's house for a couple of hours. They've been waiting to hear from John to see if they got anything from Britney's house. 

"I just can't believe that Britney did this. She messed with our loves again," said Starr. 

"Hey, its okay," said Markko.

"No, its not," said Starr. "We shouldn't have trusted her. I think we should have trusted someone else's instinct," she said, looking over at Nicole. She was sitting on the stairs along with Jake and Crystal.

"I didn't mean to press it on, Mom," said Nicole, but Starr interrupted. 

"Hey, you don't need to say anything, sweetie," said Starr. "I think I should have trusted you and took your opinion as well." Nicole smiled with tears and hugged her mother, with Starr returning the hug.

Just then there was a knock on the door, and Markko went to answer it. It was Blair and Marty.

"We got here as fast as we could," said Blair.

"Any word on finding my son?" asked Marty.

"No, Marty," said Starr, walking up to her mother-in-law. "John and the police are checking out Britney's place right now." Starr hung her head down a little and Blair went to her daughter. "Hey, they are going to find them," Blair assured Starr.

"Yeah, I just wished I listened a little more though to Nicole's feeling about her," said Starr.

"Well, at least now you know how I felt on that end," said Blair. Starr smiled, but still felt a little down.

"Hey, let's not lose hope," said Jake. "The police will find Nicole's dad, and take that stupid woman out of here." Jake then got a surprise as Nicole hugged him. "Thanks, Jake." Jake then returned the hug. "Hey, what are best friends for?" 

Just then, John came in without knocking. "Hey, Starr," he said. Everyone looked up at John as he sad something.

"Looks like Britney was so obsessed with getting Cole, she didn't do a good job of hiding her tracks. She left a map of where she was planning to go with Cole," said John. 

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" said Langston. 

"I already got some officers on route to find them right now; cars and a chopper. Pretty soon, we'll be able to get Cole back here, where he belongs," said John. 

"That's great, John," said Marty, hugging him. Nicole started to tear up, and Jake stood by her side to comfort her, with Crystal joining them. "My dad is going to be home soon."

Back out on the road, Cole was still knocked out from Britney's second chloroform smothering, and she was smiling to herself. "Pretty soon, Starr will send the divorce papers, and then you and I will be able to have the life we are suppose to have, and Starr and those little midgets of hers will be out of our hairs."

She turned on the radio and started listening to the music when she heard some kind of humming sound. She looked through her rearview window and saw that it was a helicopter. 

"Hmm, just flying over us to take care of something," said Britney. 

Unfortuately for her, the chopper wasn't going by her. And then to make matters worse for her, she heard sirens coming from behind her. A few marked cop cars were trailing behind her.

"No way, how did they find me so fast?" Britney wondered.

"This is the Llanview Police Department. Pull to the side of the road, now!" The voice was coming from Antonio, who was in the police chopper with Talia. 

"I am not losing my soulmate. Starr has got those officer minds corrupted," Britney said with rage. She then pushed on the gas pedal and started to speed up, trying to get away from the cars. The police did the same to keep up with her and tried to stop her. 

Just then, as Britney tried to get on the highway, something bad happened. She started to turn on the entrance of the highway that led down to the highway, but unfortunately missed it, and started spinning, hitting two other cars. 

The police hurried over there to the scene to make sure no one was hurt, with the chopper landing down, and Talia and Antonio heading out. 

"Go check to see if the people in those two cars are okay," he commanded to some of the officers. He, Talia, and the other officers headed over to Britney and the unconscious Cole. Talia opened the door on Cole's side, since Britney's door was blocked one of the other cars. Antonio cut him loose and carried him out, while Talia and the other officers pulled out a struggling Britney. 

"Let me and my love, go," Britney yelled out loud. She was trying to get away to get to Cole, but Talia was proving too strong for her, and got her in some handcuffs and into a patrol car after being patted down.

"Cole, can you here me?" Antonio called out. "Cole!" He slapped Cole's face lightly to try to get him to come to. 

"Anything?" asked Talia.

"He's out right now," said Antonio. "She must of used some kind of chemical to keep him down."

"Detective Sahid," one of the officers called out to Talia. 

"Yeah, what is it?" she asked. 

"It looks like she had these cloths filled with chloroform to keep him," the officer said, holding up a few of the cloths. 

"Oh man, I hope he's okay," said Antonio.

Just then, Cole started to make a groaning sound, and started to slowly move his head. 

"Hey Cole, can you hear me?" asked Antonio. 

"Antonio," said Cole. "Yeah, I do, but you sound a little loud."

"All right, listen, do you know what happened?" Antonio pressed on.

"Yeah," Cole said trying to sit up a little. "Speaking of which, where is Britney? I'm going to-"

"Relax, Cole," said Talia. "We got Ms. Jennings in custody already and in that police car in there."

"Oh man," said Cole. "I'm going to have to explain everything to Starr and convince her that letter that she sent isn't real."

"Hey, don't worry about that," Antonio assured him. "Starr knew it was a fake after we found your car with the door opened and your keys on the ground."

"She was so obsessed with getting you, she was not doing a good job hiding her tracks. And your daughter and her friends actually played a little detective to help find you," explained Talia. Cole couldn't feel any more proud of his little girl. 

"Excuse me, Detective, but the suspect is causing a ruckus in the car," an officer informed Talia, as he pointed out Britney shaking and kicking the seat, while some of the officers were telling her to stop that. 

"Get her feet tied to the floor, read her rights to her, and get her out of here," commanded Talia. The officer nodded to let her know he understood, and went to take care of the situation.

"You think you can stand up, Cole?" asked Antonio.

"Yeah, I think I can, although I think I'm going to need some help moving," said Cole. Antonio then helped Cole up, and then helped him walk over to the ambulance to get checked out.

Back over at the house, everyone (except for John who had to leave) was waiting anxiously for some news. Crystal and Jake had to go as well, and Nicole promised them that she would call them when they found out anything. 

Just then, Starr's phone ranged, and she answered it. "Hello." Starr listened with everybody being real quiet, even Patrick. "Oh, my, Thanks, Antonio." She then hung up, and shouted, "They got her. Cole is okay. They're bringing him to the station to get a statement from him."

Everybody blew a sigh of relief and happiness, as they were glad that Cole was okay. Nicole was so happy that she even hugged her brother real tightly. 

"Can we go down there and see him, Mom?" asked Nicole.

"You know what, I think your Dad would love that, sweetie," Starr said, glad of the suggestion that her daughter made. "Come on, Patrick."

"Where did Daddy go?" asked Patrick. Everyone looked at each other, and then decided not to tell him. Patrick had obviously no clue as to what was going on. 

"Come on, Patrick, we'll take him to you," said Nicole. Starr and her kids, along with Marty, went out to reunite with Cole. Blair, Langston, and Markko decided to stay behind, to give them some time. 

_Stay tuned as Starr, Marty, and Cole's kids reunite with Cole at the station. _


	11. Chapter 11

Bonds of Love

By Dueler312

Disclaimer: I do not own anything of OLTL.

Chapter 11

Everything was running smoothly at the police station, until Talia and Antonio brought Britney in, being followed by Cole and the other officers. Britney was continuously as Talia was dragging her to the jail cell, "Cole, tell them you wanted to go with me. Come on, Cole. Tell them." Talia threw her to the other officers. "Take her down and get her processed," she ordered.

"Yes, ma'am," said the officers, and with some difficulty, dragged a screaming and resisting Britney down to the processing room.

"Hey, are you all right?" Antonio asked Cole.

"Yeah, I'm okay," said Cole. "I'm still a little woozy from the chloroform, but I should be all right."

"Okay," said Antonio. "Listen, I'm going to let you try to collect your thoughts about what happened tonight, and then I'm going to need a statement from you, okay, Cole." Cole nodded to let Antonio knew he understood. Antonio then backed off and went to his office.

Cole then sat down and tried to remember what had happened, so he could include it in his statement. He been only thinking about a minute when he heard 4 familiar voices calling out, "Cole!" "Dad!"

Cole looked up and saw Starr, Nicole, Patrick, and his mom running over to them. Cole then quickly stood up and hugged his wife as hard as he could, with Starr doing the same to her husband. Nicole, Patrick, and Marty did the same.

"What happened, Daddy?" asked Patrick. "Where did you go?"

"He doesn't know?" asked Cole.

"We didn't know if it was a good idea to tell him, Cole," said Starr. Cole knew, but thought that his son should at least know some of the truth.

"The thing is, son, a bad person actually kidnapped me," said Cole.

"Somebody kidnapped you?" asked Patrick.

"Yeah, but that bad person is caught, and going away for a long time," said Cole.

"Good," said Patrick.

Starr, Nicole, and Marty smiled at that.

"Hey, why don't we get something from the vending machine, Patrick, okay?" Marty suggested.

"Okay," said Patrick, and he went with his grandmother. Marty real purpose though was to try to give Starr and Cole some time.

"I'm glad that you are okay," said Starr. "Someone here definitely helped proved of what Britney was up to," she added, looking at Nicole.

Cole went to his daughter's height, and said to her, "You are definitely one brave girl, you know that?"

"Hey, I knew she was up to something, and I wasn't afraid to stand up to her and show everyone for what she was," said Nicole. "Besides, I don't want to lose you or Mom, Dad."

"And we are definitely proud of you for wanting that, and for acting on your feeling," said Starr. "You really have a pure heart." Nicole turned red when she heard that.

"I really agree with that," said John, who just came in and heard what Starr said to her daughter.

"Are you all right, kid?" asked John.

"Yeah, I'll be okay," said Cole. "I think I'm going to give my statement to Antonio now."

"Do you want me to come with you?" asked Starr.

"No, that's okay," said Cole. "I'll be okay." They both shared a quick hug, and then Cole went to Antonio's office to give his statement.

"Hey, listen Starr. I do need to take a statement from Nicole, seeing as she was onto Britney the entire time, and help uncovered her plan," said John.

"That's okay," said Starr. "Do you want me to come with you, Nicole?" she asked her daughter.

"Yes, I do," said Nicole. "I think saying it a minimal amount of times would be a good idea." She and Starr then followed John into his office, where Nicole told them everything about her stalking them that morning on their first day of school, up until where, she, Langston, Markko, Jake, and Crystal went to her house and uncovered everything. When Nicole had told everything she had learned and suspected, John handed her the statement of everything she had said. Nicole then had signed it with her full name.

"You are really one tough girl to defend your family against something like this," said John.

"Thanks, Commander," said Nicole.

Starr just couldn't believe it. Even though she had her during her teenage years, Starr was glad that she had Nicole here.

Just then the phone on John's desk rang and John answered it.

"No kidding," he said. "Hang on, I'll go down there myself and take care of this." He hung up the phone.

"If you two ladies will excuse me, I got to go calm down our new guest down in her jail cell," said John.

"No problem," said Starr. John opened the door for them, and all three of them headed out.

"Dad!" said Nicole. Starr looked up and saw that Cole was already done with his statement, and was standing by with Marty and Patrick.

"Hey, are you okay?" asked Cole.

"I'm okay, Dad," said Nicole.

"How about you guys go on home?" suggested Marty. "It looks like you guys really need to rest and process this."

"That sounds to me like the best idea that was said all day," said Cole.

"Yeah, come on you guys," said Starr.

"Sure thing, Mom. Bye, Grandma," said Nicole.

"Bye, sweetie," said Marty. She hugged Nicole and Patrick, and then the four Thornharts exited the station. As she watched them leave, Marty just thought to herself and said, "Those four are one strong family."

Down in the jail cell, Britney was still yelling that she wanted to listen to Cole and that he would tell them that he was going with her, while banging and shaking the cell door.

"Hey, knock it off, Ms. Jennings," John shouted as he came to the cell door.

"Commander, oh good. You can listen to Cole. He knows what has happened," Britney said with one breath.

"Yeah, and he's already given his statement," said John. "And I'm pretty sure that it's doesn't match with what he said, or with what we've collected from your house, so I suggest you keep quiet, or I'll find a way to do that."

"Cole just confused because of the accident," pleaded Britney. "He's not in his mind.

"Oh, I know he's in his right mind," said John as he turned to walk out," because I'm pretty sure he walked out of here with his family to spend time with him."

"No, he ISN'T," Britney kept saying as John walked out, but John just ignored her.

"No! COLE, COME BACK!" yelled Britney. "STARR MANNING, YOU ARE GOING TO PAY FOR THIS, YOU WITCH!"

_Sounds like Britney is totally obsessed with Cole. Stay tuned. The story isn't over yet. _


	12. Chapter 12

Bonds of Love

By Dueler312

Disclaimer: I do not own anything of OLTL.

Chapter 12

The Thornharts finally made it home, and were exhausted. Patrick was already asleep when they arrived back. Everyone agreed that it was just one bad day that ended in a good way.

Nicole volunteered to put her brother to bed. With some difficulty, she managed to carry Patrick to his room and lay him down. She pulled his shoes off as well, but decided to not undress him and just laid the covers over him as he slept on.

When Nicole was heading back downstairs, she saw that her mom and dad were clinging to each other in the front room on the couch. She felt really sorry about what Britney tired to do, and wanted to comfort them, but as she saw her parents sitting there next to each other with their faces touching each other, she knew it was better than to leave them alone. Nicole though decided to keep an eye on them.

Starr and Cole weren't aware that Nicole was watching. They were just glad to be back in each other's arms.

"I'm really glad that you are okay, Cole," said Starr.

"I am too," said Cole.

"I just can't believe we nearly fell for Britney's nice act again," Starr said with a little aggravation. "I mean, I should of figured something was wrong, but I just past that feeling away."

"Hey, none of us knew what Britney was going to do," said Cole. "And if it haven't been for Nicole for going with her guts and exposing Britney for what she was really doing, we wouldn't be even having this talk, because she would have still had me."

"Plus, let's not forget of how she left a lot of clues while she was trying to get you," said Starr. "But yeah, I am proud of our daughter for sticking up and protecting us, even though we're supposed to do the protecting." Cole laughed at that, and Nicole, who was still hiding on the stairs, smiled a big grin.

"Yeah, I am really glad we had her, even though we were really young ourselves," said Cole.

"Yeah, but you did miss that because of my dad," said Starr.

"True, but I did see her, and she did help save you from your dad when he tried to take you and her away," said Cole.

"Well, you know what," said Starr. "I think she definitely deserves something for what she has done. But right now, I really just want to be just with you for tonight."

"Well, I think I can do that," said Cole. Starr then yelped as Cole picked her up bridal style and started walking towards the steps. That gave the cue for Nicole to get out of the way and into her room. She did though keep the door opened a little bit to see her parents go into their bedroom, and closed the door. Once she was sure they were inside, she opened her door all the way and quietly went over to her door. She heard some ruffling in there, but she heard something that really melted her heart.

"I love you, Starr."

"I love you too, Cole."

Nicole just smiled a big grin again, and went back to her room, closing her door all of the way this time. She really did envy her parents love for one another. She then thought about them talking about her going nuts when they talk about Jake and her. She had to admit it, but made a note to keep it to herself until she wanted to release it, she really did have a crush on him. She still couldn't believe it, but knew that she had to wait.

Just then she heard a knock on her door, and she went to answer it. She was surprised though that it was Patrick.

"Hey, where's Mom and Dad, Nicole?" he asked.

Nicole just smiled and said, "Right now, Mom and Dad are spending some time with each other, and I think we need to let them have that time." Nicole then got something from her brother that was surprising. Her brother gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. She smiled and then Patrick went back to his bedroom. She knew she couldn't complain about this.

Just then the phone ringed downstairs. "I got it," said Nicole, and she went downstairs to answer it.

"Hello," Nicole said into the receiver.

"Nicole, Its Jake. I got Crystal as well on the line as well," he said.

"Hang on," she said, and she connected Crystal to the line. "Crystal?" Nicole called into the phone.

"Yeah, I'm here," said Crystal. "We just heard that they found your dad. Is he okay?"

"Yeah, he was a little woozy, but he's okay now. He and my mom are spending a little time together," said Nicole.

"Eewww, " said Jake. "No offense, but I don't want to hear that." Nicole and Crystal laughed at that.

"Yeah, but I'm glad that they are alone. They need some time to themselves after that woman nearly got away with my dad," said Nicole.

"That definitely sounds romantic," said Crystal. "I am glad though that your dad is okay, Nikki."

"Thanks, you guys," said Nicole.

"Well, there is one more thing," said Jake. "It seems that most of the school heard about you helping to find your dad, so you may expect some traffic of getting through."

"Hey, they aren't going to matter. Those people weren't my friends before this, and if they think they can become my friend because of something I did, they're wrong," said Nicole.

"Well, at least you got us, Nikki," said Crystal.

"We're always going to be your best friends, now and forever," said Jake.

Nicole just smiled and teared a little. "You guys are really the greatest friends I ever had," she said. "I'll see you guys tomorrow," she added.

"No, problem, Nikki. Later," said Crystal.

"Same here," said Jake. "We'll see you at school."

Nicole hung up the phone, and then went back to her room to get ready for bed, but stopped as her mom called her.

"Hey, Nicole, who was that?" asked Starr.

"It was just my friends, Mom," explained Nicole. "They just wanted to say that they were glad that Dad was found safe and sound."

"That's really sweet of them," said Starr. "They really care for you."

"Well, they are my best friends, Mom," said Nicole. "They actually did help me proved what Britney was doing." Starr gave her daughter another hug and said to her," I love you, Nicole."

"I love you too, Mom. But I think Dad is waiting for you," she started to joke. Starr laughed a little and went off back into her and Cole's room. Nicole was glad that she had two of the best parents that she could ever ask for, along with her friends. She continued thinking that as she went back into her room and went to sleep in her bed.

_Pretty neat, huh? Were you surprised that Nicole admitted that she has a crush for her friend, Jake? Stay tuned. We still got to deal with Britney and where she's going. _


	13. Chapter 13

Bonds of Love

By Dueler312

Disclaimer: I do not own anything of OLTL.

Chapter 13

The next day, Starr, Cole, Langston, and Markko were waiting in the courthouse, as Britney's arraignment was about to start in a few minutes. Laura was with Dorian and Nicole and Patrick were at school.

"I'll be glad when this will be all over," said Starr.

"Well, at least there will be one good thing about all of this," said Langston. "That old hag won't be hurting any of us anymore." Starr couldn't help but smile at Langston's name calling on Britney.

"Hey, you guys," someone said behind them. Nora was coming up behind them.

"Nora?" Cole said, a little surprised. "Are you prosecuting the case against Britney?" he asked.

"I sure am," said Nora. "And I'm going to make sure that she does pay for what she almost got away with."

"Thanks a lot, Nora," said Starr.

"Hey, No problem," said Nora.

Just then, a man with brown hair in a black suit just went into the courtroom. "Does that guy work with you, Nora?" asked Langston.

"No he doesn't," said Nora. "I think he may be the lawyer for Britney, but I didn't see her walking in."

Starr started to get a little scared about what was going on.

Meanwhile over at school, Nicole, Jake, and Crystal were trying to have a normal day as possible. However, Jake and Crystal's predictions of people who didn't noticed them were noticing them now, and were wanting to be Nicole's friend and wanting to whole the details of how she took down Britney Jennings, but Nicole and the others just simply walk past them. Sometimes Jake had to laid the law down on to some people who were trying minute after minute to get in what they called "Nicole's gang." Nicole kind of turned red when Jake did that. Luckily, Jake and Crystal didn't notice it.

"Wow, everybody is trying to be your friend just because you did something big," said Crystal, even though she hated that. All three of them were eating lunch in the cafeteria, and a lot of the students were looking at them, mostly at Nicole.

"Well, if they think they can be my friend because I did something heroic, they're wrong," said Nicole. "I don't like people like that, and I don't like to be treated like I'm famous."

Jake looked up at Nicole and said, "You are definitely something, Nicole."

"I know. And I'm glad you guys are treating me the same way you always have," said Nicole.

"Hey, we're you best friends, Nikki," said Crystal. "And nothing is going to change that." Crystal then held out her hand, and Nicole took it, followed along with Jake covering both of the girls' hand with his. Nicole though kind of felt a little tingling when she felt Jake's hand covering hers.

Back at the courthouse, Nora walked in and sat at the prosecution desk, while Starr and the others sat down. They were joined later on by Blair and Marty, who also wanted to see Britney go down for what she did.

"Hey, where's Britney?" asked Blair.

"I don't know," said Starr. "I think that's her lawyer there," she said, pointing to the man at the defendant's desk, "but I haven't seen Britney around here yet."

Just then the bailiff announced the judge and everyone stood up for him until she sat down.

"Ms. Hanen, Mr. Rolant, welcome," said the judge. "We are here for the arraignment of Ms. Britney Jennings, for her to answer the charges brought against her."

"Your honor," said Nora, "We would love to start, but first I think I would like to know where Ms. Jennings is."

"I would like to know that as well," said the judge.

"Your honor," said Mr. Rolant, "Ms. Jennings isn't here because she was out of control, and had to be put into a high security mental hospital. I have the papers here myself to prove that," he said, producing the medical papers for proof.

"Probably just a excuse to get out of what she did," Starr angrily whispered. Cole wrapped his arm around her to try to comfort her.

"Have you seen these papers, Ms. Hanen?" asked the judge.

"No I haven't, Your Honor," said Nora. The judge handed Nora the papers and Nora looked at them.

"Your Honor, I know these papers could look official, but I think we might want to call the doctor who released these to verify this," said Nora.

"He's actually here," said Mr. Rolant. "Dr. Linord.

A man walked in the courtroom, and stopped right in between the Plaintiff and Defendant desks.

"This is Dr. Linord," said Mr. Rolant. "He was called into the jail cell when Ms. Jennings started to cause a lot of disturbance, calling out Mr. Thornhart's name really loudly. "

"And who actually called you, Dr. Linord?" asked the judge.

"Commander McBain was the one who called me, Your Honor," said the doctor.

Everyone was in a little shock, but knew that if John McBain called that in, then they knew everything was all right.

"Very well, and what is Ms. Jennings's status right now, Doctor?" asked the judge.

"Right now, she still going nuts about how Mr. Thornhart was wanting her, we felt it was safe for everyone that we put her in a room, along with a cell door, to make sure she doesn't hurt herself or anyone else," Dr. Linord explained.

"Very well," said the judge. "In this case, I can see right now that the defendant is not fir to stand trial. I will want regular reports doctor, as she still has to answer the charges for the crimes she has comitted. Court is adjourned." The judge then banged the gavel and headed out. The doctor and the defense lawyer walked out without talking to anyone,

"I'm really sorry we're not going to be able to prosecute Britney for what she's done, you guys," said Nora.

"Hey, as long as she's locked up, I'm okay with it," said Starr.

"Yeah, and then maybe she can learn to start living her own life, and staying away from ours," said Cole.

"Hey, come on you guys," said Markko. "Why don't we all get something to eat?" he suggested.

"Yeah, we'll see you later," said Starr.

"Hey, you just concentrate on raising your family," said Blair.

"All of you guys do that," added Marty.

"We will, Mom," said Cole. The four friends then headed out of the courthouse.

Back at the school, it seems that the friend gathering that was targeting Nicole had completely stopped. It seemed that everyone got the message, though a promising message from Jake about trying to bother Nicole about what she had did may of helped as well.

"You were lucky none of the teachers heard that message," said Nicole.

"Well, at least the people finally got the message," said Jake Nicole just smiled and shook her head.

"That's what I like about you," said Nicole. Jake smiled at her as well.

"Okay, you two, snap out of it," said Crystal.

"Snap out of what?" asked Jake.

"Nothing," said Nicole.

Just then Nicole saw her mom and dad waiting at the door, along with Patrick.

"Hey guys, I got to go," said Nicole. "Later."

Jake and Crystal said good-bye to her, and Nicole headed over to where her family was. They headed out and went home. Patrick went to his room, but Nicole stayed to ask her mom and dad about the trial.

"It seems that she is unfit to stand trial, so she's right now in a maximum security mental hospital, until she can be fit to stand trial," Starr explained to her daughter.

"If you ask me, it sounds like another one of her plans," said Nicole.

"It isn't," said Cole. "John McBain actually was the one who called about Britney's state."

"Well, at least she won't be able to hurt you guys anymore," said Nicole.

"I think we got ourselves a little protector, Starr," said Cole.

"Dad!" said Nicole, shaking her head

"Well, its true, honey," said Starr. Cole smiled, and then went to start finding something to cook for dinner.

"Hey, though. I'll say it again. You were pretty brave to stand by your feeling, and trusting your instinct. I'll always be proud of you for that," said Starr.

"Thanks, Mom," said Nicole. "Can I ask you for a little advice on something?"

"Sure," said her mom. "What about?"

"How do you know if you really like someone?" Nicole asked in a whisper.

"You sounding like your admitting you do have that crush," said Starr in her normal tone.

"Mom!" whispered Nicole. "Not out loud, please? I don't want Dad or Patrick to know."

"Okay," said Starr "It will be our secret." Starr then walked her daughter over to the couch to talk about her little crush on Jake.

Cole looked in on them, loving on how he was seeing a mother and daughter talking, probably about girl stuff. Cole giggled quietly at their bond, and headed back to dinner.

Later on, when Starr and Cole were in bed, Cole went to wrap Starr in his arms, which Starr immediately accepted. "You know, I never really got over you wrapping your arms around me," she said.

"Well, I can keep on doing it, if you want," said Cole. Starr answered with a smile of love and they started to kiss for a while. "I love you, Starr." said Cole.

"I love you, too, Cole," said Starr. "And there is nothing or no one that is going to break our bond of love."

"I'm glad for that," said Cole. He and Starr then laid right next to each other, with Cole snuggling into Starr's hair, and went to have a good night sleep.

_Hey guys. This is the last chapter of Bonds of Love. I hope you like it. The next one is going to be called Fighting For the One. Here's a little sneak peek of the first chapter._

"_**Hey, Nicole, Can I ask you something?" asked Jake."**_

"_**Sure, Jake," said Nicole, hoping it was the question she was hoping."**_

"_**I was wondering Starr if you would like to renew our vows?" asked Cole. Starr was looked really surprised. "**_

"_**Don't worry, we're going to get what we both want."**_

_Stay tuned for it. _


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